"Beat L.A." is a significant phrase around the NBA, but it carries an extra edge in Phoenix. The two teams carry a long-standing history as division rivals and playoff foes. The geographic factor also comes into play. There is a sense that, more than team versus team, it is city versus city.
"It was the town of Phoenix against the city of L.A,” recalled former Suns player and current Head Coach Jeff Hornacek. “It was more about the glitz versus the cowboy town or whatever."
Their latest clash resulted in a Suns victory, the 100th time in team history Phoenix has come out on top of the Lakers. Win number one? That occurred on Nov. 7, 1969. Former Suns beat writer and Hall of Fame journalist Joe Gilmartin was there.
5 Reasons We Love/Hate Suns-Lakers
"It was a classic mismatch," Gilmartin remembered. "The Suns were practically brand-new. The Lakers, everywhere you looked they had a Hall-of-Famer."
It seemed that way, what with Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West all sporting Laker purple and gold. The Suns? They countered with newly acquired star Connie Hawkins[1] along with expansion year returners Gail Goodrich and Dick Van Arsdale[2].
Ironically, it was Goodrich who led the Suns to the monumental upset over the star-laden Lakers. The future Laker and Hall-of-Famer scored a game-high 37 points, including 13-of-14 from the free throw line, to lead Phoenix to a 122-120 win.
The landmark win set an early tone for the young franchise in Phoenix. They won the season series 4-3 that season, then led them 3-1 in the playoffs before ultimately falling 4-3. Over the next three seasons, the fledgling Suns won eight of 13 regular season meetings against the vaunted Lakers.
“In those early years, the Suns had some stunning success against the Lakers,” Gilmartin said.
The newly established NBA rivalry added another layer to the general sports rivalry between Los Angeles and Phoenix, one that has continued 99 wins later.
“In Phoenix, even when Arizona State beat SC (University of Southern California), anytime Phoenix did anything against L.A., that was huge,” Gilmartin laughed. “That and, of course, the fact that the Lakers were so good.”
[1] This was Hawkins first year in the NBA. The star forward was just over a year removed from winning the ABA championship and MVP trophies.
[2] Gilmartin on Van Arsdale’s early days with the Suns: “When the Suns got Dick Van [in the 1968 NBA expansion draft], they said he was a very aggressive player but he couldn’t shoot very well. He learned to shoot and became a good shooter.”
The season Phoenix beat the Lakers for the first time (1969-70) was the first time he shot above 45 percent from the field. He never dipped lower than that for the rest of his career.